Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1887-01-05
RAILROAD DIsAsrsn
Two Traips In Coiiision-seventoen Per
some Killed and Burned % Death.

JTEHKIBLE kAiLHOAD DlsAsreh
Two Tra,us In Coiiisiou-seventeen Per
some Kiiisd and Burned % Death.
CHICAGO. Jap. "A special 10 ths
Times from TffIin, Ohio. says:
Al 10 IS thty nofnihg an east bound
freight trsfn> uuslsr charge Of CUnd no
ltor Fletcher. collided with the west
jbourd fast line on the Baltimore and
tOhio Road, At . poipt about half mile
west of Republic, and distant aDou'
Iseven miles east Of Timn.
Il The night was cold, and he had dim
Guilty In keeping up steam, and about
1.-TWO hundreds yards from the switch the
engine came TO u standsfill. Altheus
1t must have been apparent to him that
There WAS little time to be lost, no warn
ing WAS sounded until they came To u
halt.
He then started up the track with q
lantern In his hand. He had not pro
Iceeded but few hundred feet when ht
saw the headlight of the west. bound
Iexprsss rounding the curve and thun
lderipg do IN the grade at the ratio OF 8,
Imiles an hour. Horror strick On be
Iswung his lantern, but too late, and
with friahtful crash the engines came
ltogt ther. The PAT senger train was In
IcharQe OF Conduct Tom Hackott, En-
Ieineer Lem Eastman and Fireman
William Frederiokt, and consisted oi
J engine No. 726, q mail aud baggage car
express, smoker. coach and two sleep
ers.
II Engineer Eastman saw the sigma
and At the same time the headlight ol
the freight engine, md signalling
brakes, reversed tho lever, and, with q
warning TO his fireman j jumped through
i the cab window, alightiuR In snow
Q bank, escaping with slight injury ,e
his knee. Tae fireman, William Fred
u ericks, was engaged In stoking the IRE
: and as too late to escape, and the nex'
: moment was caught between the cat
r and boiler, his right thigh pierced by
an iron rod and the limb broken In
= three or four places. Sotwithstsndina
4 his terrible injuries, be fingered con
sciou, until 8 O'Clock, when death cam
n TO his release, still Fastened In the
ivreck. The freight train WAS manned
A iby Conductor Fletcher. Engineor Kilel
0 and Eirtman W. j. Catlison. and con
u cars and few empty oles The mef
escaped unipjured.
nj The effect OF the collision can bette
y be imagined than described. The 81
. eines Of the two trains reared into th'
d air and then settled down upon th'
= r1track, driven into each other until tn
= oy linders touched. The force OF th,
Impact jammed the baggage and mai
Car into the tender OF the fast line, th
express car into the baggage, and tn
smcker into the express. In less thai
Ave minutes from the moment Of tn
collisioD, and before any organize,
effort 1t rescue could be made, tho fir
lot the overturned stoves communicate,
Ito the woodwork, ard the flames leape'
thigh in the air, their roar miDgiin
with the cries Of anguish Of the i'm
Iprisoned victims. to whom death in It
most terrible form was horrid pref
lence.
The train men and uniniured passen
gers were poweriess. and could on J.
look upon the pyre and hope for
Ispeedy termination Of the sufferinRs G
the victims. The smoker containei
from twelve to twenty pssst rgers, som
: of whom were immigrants, and bu
two men escaped alive, and one o
them, an Irish immigrant, WAS 80 tel
I Iiibly bruised and burned that he can
l not recover.
Baggage Master w. f Gates OF New
} ark, Was the only man in his car, On,
he was hurt In both legs, the LETT le
being cut In several places and q splin
ter or rod had run into his right foot
Pierce, the express messen ger, wa
. burned to q crisp, Hie home is o
Wheeling, where q bride of fsv
months awaits o husband who will
never return.
II @, r. Bradley, of Wash gton, d. @
was found hanging from the window q
the smoker, but his legs were iast au,
he could not be removed, and there b
remained until he wss burned to death
= and his charred remains fell to tn
ground n black and shspe,esB mass. II
was conscious, ard gave his address L
bystandeIs,aDd also said that he was Oh
; officer Of the Knights OF Lshor c,ssni
4 zstion. He gave his watch and every
hing be oould set fiom his pockets Il
: Conductor Fletcher, OF the fIeigh
,raln. Joseph Postlethwaiie and hi
two sons, spencer ard Henry, wer
r also burned IN the smoker
Mr. Postlethwaits's wife ard thre
sIyonDger children were on the train
but we're uripj jursd. The family wa
" moving from rear hartinshurg, W
al Va, TO Chillicio,he, Mo, having sol,
their farm for about 81 800 In none
Postlethwaite. leaving his widow an
three little children destitute. Nj
Post!eihwsite was Union soldier, an
belonged to !he aevs nteenth West VII
9inia Volunteer Ioiautry.
. nj H. ParkH, whose address canUC
De learned, was also wadged in IL
wreck and burned TO death, aft.
banding his money, letters and cards I
one OF the railway employees. His tot
was Also consumed, as were those
several others whose names are III
znown aud perhaps never viii be.
Ii the undertaking establishment {
the little village, charred and blaci
oned beyond samb Gnos TO buusanil,
lay the dishRured remn!n MS OF nipa of u
= lvictinie, burned dry and without PEE
c.piihie odGr. None OF them c0ul
aAvo been recoguizsd hut Postlet h val
1 aud bis two sons, who were tout d In
position which established their ideI
Itity.
CINCINNATI Jan 4-The Comme
'Gszette's Ti,hn, OHIO, special T.
por's diversity o: opinion reyardi in
the real cause OF the accident. The r,
p"fts agree that there WAS relessb
oh The part of the railroad employer
a out whether blame 3, ould alta ID to tb
OF eisnt or passenger crew Is m alter {
e. will be made.
'. Inc Coroner has taken charge Of th
ieau. The Numerical correaponde q,
gives seventeen as the number wh
), we're Killed, and says that out OF q itee
ona's"aers In the smoker but ono Q,
-Icsped. Wv o''' y
III OTHER ACCIDENTS.
AN express train on the Boston an
ALBANY Railroad was wrecked early O
Monday morning at Mlttintaeue S,a